On September 20th, 2017, a catastrophe struck the island of Puerto Rico. This natural disaster known as Hurricane Maria impacted thousands of people on the island in a devastating way; particularly harming those who once resided there but now no longer do.

Here, at the University of Dayton, many students who call the island of Puerto Rico their home were heavily rocked by this disastrous storm. Though they reside here in the states, the unknowingness of their families and loved ones impacted on the island, was something heavily felt throughout campus, even to this very day.

Through this new project, I aim to provide a platform for those students who were harmed by this disaster. I hope that by seeing their images and reading their stories, those who also reside within the University of Dayton campus and beyond can react and feel the emotions of that horrific day from those individuals who were personally harmed.

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Javi S., a senior, communications management major at the University of Dayton agreed to articulate his memories from Hurricane Maria to me.

Read his statements below:

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"I have an older brother who lives back home with my parents. He is currently studying Biology at the University of Puerto Rico and plans to follow in my dad’s footsteps to become a doctor.

My dad is a gynecologist and my mom is a stay-at-home mom. We live in the metropolitan area and all my family lives 10 to 15 minutes from each other which is good in a way.

Many people think that because I lIve in Guaynabo everything is nice and good looking. What they don’t know is that in my community the power grid is old, as well as the community.

This means that every time it rains or is windy, some type of explosion or problem within the power grid gets damaged and we run out of power.

On the other hand, it is a great community and is very close to everything. I live 15 minutes from the beach, which is great whenever I’m back on break."

"Before the hurricane, Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy. After the hurricane, the economy got even worse.

Many people are leaving the island because of unemployment. it is very jaw-dropping to hear and see, but it is the reality."

"My hometown wasn't severely damaged, but because we had an old electricity grid, power was a big problem.

I could say easily that my parents were without power for about five months - running on a small generator we had at the time.

We were without power even before Hurricane Maria. It was during Hurricane Irma when our power was cut off.

Even after, when I went back home, power was still out."

"After four days, I was able to talk to my brother. Then the following day, I was able to reach both of my parents.

I was really stressed out about the fact that I couldn’t reach them and didn’t know if they were alright. After two weeks I was able to contact my best friend back home. He couldn’t find gas anywhere and because of my dad, I was able to help him.

My dad being a doctor was able to cut the lines and get some gas. However, he didn't like to do it. Twice I was able to help my best friend and his mom who couldn’t find gas at all for a period of two weeks."

"I love helping people.

Thanks to my dad, I was able to help with the recovery back home.

He and few other doctors from Puerto Rico gathered a team to help other communities around with the disaster. Every Sunday we went to a different town to help those in need."

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To help aid those still impacted by Hurricane Maria, please visit the following link(s):

http://www.unidosporpuertorico.com/en/

https://give.internationalmedicalcorps.org